Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a vision-enhancement system and methods, and more particularly, to a head-mounted and user-controllable method and system for vision-enhancement, and a system and method for configuring a vision-enhancement system.
Discussion of the Background
The normal human visual system establishes a non-magnified representation of a scene in the visual periphery with a high-resolution representation at the center of the visual field. Thus, the cornea and lens of the eye focuses a viewed scene onto the retina, which includes the fovea near the center of vision and a peripheral area. The fovea is a small area composed of closely packed cones near the center of the macula lutea of the retina. The fovea is responsible for sharp central vision, which is necessary for activities where visual detail is of primary importance, such as reading and driving.
The fovea is greatly expanded at the visual cortex, and represents a significant magnification mechanism that allows a normally sighted person to discern the region of the visual world that is in “focus” on (faces, titles of dish soap, text), but sees that region in the broad context of an overall visual field.
A significant portion of the population suffers from low vision, those with visual acuity of 20/80 or worse. These people have difficulty reading, but also with mobile activities such as navigating and recognizing both people and objects at a distance. This disability greatly diminishes their quality of life, greatly limiting their ability to socialize, shop, cook, and travel. Recent technical advances in digital technology have greatly improved the ability to read with large magnified CCTV displays, but mobility still remains a difficult challenge: magnification is effective for static activities like reading or watching TV, but does not enable a person to move through the environment while viewing a magnified view of the environment. The reason is that magnification of the entire image dramatically reduces the overall field of view. Thus, for instance, if a person with normal vision has a visual field of view of 180 degrees, a system that magnifies 6× reduces that field of view to 30 degrees, thus eliminating a person's peripheral vision.
Thus there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus that permits for enhanced representation of the visual world that also enables mobility for navigation and recognition. The methods and apparatus should be easy to use and be inexpensive.